One Apple A Day #687 - a wrong map
Somewhere in Patagonia, January 8th, 2017
Here we are, standing at a crossroad. It has been a long and intense day. We already drove for about 500 km alternating tarmac and gravel. We surely enjoyed more the second one, but it requires more attention, and some tiredness is creeping in.
We've been standing here for a few minutes, the engine on. The complete absence of any form of human presence but us is becoming familiar. It's only us, the signs saying that we should go left staying on the asphalt road. Our map saying that we should go right, on the gravel route. We've been following the Ruta40 since the very beginning of our journey. This road is the reason why we are here.
The sign says the Ruta40 is the one on the left. A long straight line of tarmac disappearing in the horizon. However, the map that we brought with us from Italy tells another story. In our map, the Ruta40 is the one going right. A white road disappearing after a few meters behind the brow.
The shadows are getting longer and longer, and we have to make a choice if we want to get somewhere before it gets dark. The only hint we have to find our next destination, Tonchi's farm, is to look for an old abandoned horse carriage on the side of the Ruta40. But which one is the right Ruta40?
We have no clues, but we know one thing; we love the gravel.
So, this is it.
We decide to follow our map.
Two hours later we are almost regretting our choice. Outside is dark, cold and wind. And most of all, there is nothing and nobody anywhere to be seen.
We are already planning the best way to spend the night in our truck when we see it. The old abandoned horse carriage.
We found it.
***
What happened next is another story.
Only later we discovered that our map was an old one. To make the Ruta40 straighter and more comfortable to drive, the government swapped the name with another road. So the old and white Ruta40 got a new name. Our map was wrong and no more correct. Yet, it took us exactly where we wanted to go.
That day I learned that If you have clarity of intention, sometimes even a wrong map can lead you to the right place.